World's most expensive bottle of whisky sells for 1.5m pounds

The "Holy Grail" of whiskeys smashed the record for the most expensive bottle ever sold, going for nearly 1.5 million pounds at a London auction. The Macallan 1926 60-year-old single malt from cask number 263 had been expected to sell for up to 450,000, pounds but went under the hammer for 1.45 million pounds (USD 1.9 million, 1.7 million euros) late Thursday, beating the 1.2 million pounds fetched last year by another bottle from the same cask.

Distilled over 90 years ago and aged in European Oak for 60 years, the bottle was one of only 40 that Macallan, based in Moray, northern Scotland, has confirmed were bottled from Cask 263 in 1986. "This is the most iconic of all bottles of Scotch whiskey, the essential centerpiece of any great collection," said Sotheby's auction house, which organized the sale.

"This bottle provides the ultimate opportunity to taste the 'holy grail' of all whiskeys -- a once in a lifetime experience." The bottle was the first with the batch's "Fine and Rare" label to be seen at auction in more than a decade.